PRESS ON

Over the last four months we’ve been
discussing what it takes to own and lead
a company and the necessary traits that leaders possess that set them apart
from others.

July - Motivating the Man in
the Mirror

August - It’s About The
Money

September - A Touch of Class

October
- Mental Toughness

I thought
the series was important because even in good times its incredibly tough to
lead and manage a business, especially companies like ours - we don’t have
safety nets and no one is going to bail us out if and when we misstep. Being on
top of your game takes persistence and practice.

Which brings me to a final Piece of Management Advice -
Press On.

While
conducting my research I found some startling statistics that reinforces all of
the key discussion points we’ve been having. Depending on the source business
failure rates across all industries is
high. The chart below shows some of the
more conservative statistics I found. What was shocking was the failure rate
after five years in operation.

Year

Percent Failed

1

25 %

2

36 %

3

44 %

4

50 %

5

55 %

6

60 %

7

63 %

8

66 %

9

69 %

10

71 %

I know
you’re specifically interested in heating cooling and plumbing businesses. To that end, here’s the bad news.

Business’ with the

Worst
Rate of Success
After Fifth Year

1 Plumbing, Heating, Air Conditioning

2 Single-Family Housing Construction

3 Grocery Stores

4 Eating Places

5 Security Brokers and Dealers

6 Local Trucking

Major Causes firms went out of business:

Incompetence — 46%. Specifics of the
category included no formal business plan, no knowledge of pricing, no
knowledge of financing, failure to pay adequate taxes and no experience in
record keeping.

Lack of Managerial Experience — 30% including
inadequate borrowing practices, poor credit granting practices and expanding
too rapidly, going into business for the wrong reasons, owner gets worn-out
and/or underestimates the time requirements, family pressure on time and money
commitments, pride, lack of clear focus, lack of financial responsibility and
awareness.

Reviewing
the major causes firms go out of business — is the major reason HVACR
Business is in business! In every circumstance we’ve written and
will continue to write extensively on these topics. And, this is probably the
appropriate time to remind all of you — archived on our website is seven years
worth of management advice addressing each of the problems above and many more
with very specific steps that will help you through the mind field we encounter
every day.

I’ve enjoyed writting this series and hope you’ve enjoyed
reading them. Thanks for all the compliments, comments, and suggestions.

Press On

Nothing in the world
can take
the place of persistence.

Talent will not;
nothing is more common than unsuccessful
men with talent.

Genius will not;
unrewarded
genius is almost a proverb.

Education alone will
not; the world is full of educated derelicts.

Persistence and
determination
alone are omnipotent.

Ray A. Kroc’s credo -
Founder McDonalds Restaurants

Terry has over 23 years of experience in the advertising and publishing industries. He began his career with a business-to-business advertising agency. Prior to forming Hutchinson Tanker Ltd. and HVACR Business in January 2006, he spent 20 years with large national publishing and media firm where he was the publisher of several titles in the mechanical systems marketplace.

In addition to his experience in advertising and publishing, Terry has worked closely with numerous industry-related associations over the years including AHRI, AMCA, and ABMA. He has also served on the Board of Directors for the American Boiler Manufactures Association (ABMA) and as chairman, for both the Associates Committee and the Marketing Communications Committee of ABMA.

Articles by Terry Tanker

Ken Blanchard, author of "The One Minute Manager"

Ken Blanchard, whose book “The One Minute Manager” has sold more than 15 million copies and has been translated into more than 40 languages, discusses servant leadership, changing your management philosophy and being a role model for your employees.View article.

The Partnership Rules

Business partnerships are like marriages — they’re great until they’re not.View article.

Erik Bryan, Owner of Precision Air and Heating

Erik Bryan, owner of Precision Air and Heating in Chandler, Ariz., discusses his service in the Marine Corps, his past experience as a construction contractor and working with family.View article.

The Best of 20 Questions (2011-2014)

Since we last ran a Best of 20 Questions four years ago, Publisher Terry Tanker has continued to interview many of the top HVACR contractors, distributors, suppliers and consultants, as well as several prominent people in business and leadership. Here are 20 of our favorite questions — and answers — from the past four years. View article.